


The Bravest Thing

by I_Am_The_Circle



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Post-Hammer of Thor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-22 22:59:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8304508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_The_Circle/pseuds/I_Am_The_Circle
Summary: Hearthstone blames himself for Loki escaping and Blitz almost dying. Blitzen blames himself for Hearth having to go to Alfheim. After the quest, they have a talk.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy this self-indulgent fluff. I almost cried writing this. Blitzstone is too pure. Anyway this isn't edited, so hit me up if there are any typos. It's literally one am on a Monday morning. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Whatever normal is. Blitzen didn't know. They'd hardly had any time to relax in between their two adventures, and the Nine Worlds hadn't been in imminent danger then. Now, with the threat of the mischief god hanging over their heads, normal was even harder to find. But honestly, if he was honest, Loki wasn't even Blitz' first concern. He knew Hearth was blaming himself for Loki's escape, cursing that he hadn't taken othala when he had the chance. Blitz tried constantly to tell him that it wasn't his fault, he did all he could, but he knew it wasn't enough to calm his best friend after the Hel-ish few weeks they'd had.

And there it was, Blitzen's priority: Hearthstone. When not trying to convince Hearth not to blame himself, Blitz was busy blaming himself. Was there a double standard there? Probably, he thought, but what did it matter? All he could think about was how he'd gone and gotten himself stabbed by the Skofnung Sword and spent the next several days petrified. The days when Hearth had needed him the most. Hearthstone had sworn that he'd never return to Alfheim, but since he'd had to anyway, Blitzen should have been there. He should have been there to stand by Hearth's side and face the elf who had tortured him for so long. Blitz should have been there if only to comfort Hearthstone, helping him deal with the room he'd been locked in, the well where the worst day of his life had happened, the judging stares from all the high-class elves. He should have been there to remind Hearth that he was the best damn elf in the Nine Worlds, the best sorcerer in a thousand years, a wiz at pinball, and Blitz' very best friend. But where had he been instead? Stuck in Hearth's cold, loveless room as a stylishly dressed but mortally wounded statue.

He remembered when Hearth first read those runes back in their apartment in Boston. Blitzen. Bloodshed. Unstoppable. Before Ostara. He remembered the panic in Hearth's eyes when he read it and relayed it to Blitz. He remembered the following argument, Blitz trying to calm the nearly-inconsolable elf but inevitably just being dragged out of town with a hastily packed bag and a frantic best friend. And then, those weeks of hiding. Under different circumstances, it would've been a nice time, a needed break. Nothing but pizza, Netflix, and tons of quality one-on-one time with his favorite person in the world. Unfortunately, his favorite person in the world was overcome with paranoia over the safety of his favorite person in the world. So instead of a vacation, it was nonstop worry. Then, over the course of the quest, Blitz had been stabbed, petrified, and unpetrified, and Hearth had been forced to revisit the site and source of his childhood trauma.

When Blitz thought about his part in the quest, something in his chest twisted with guilt. In Alfheim, upon first being depetrified, he had woken completely confused. One second he was dying, and the next he was sitting in an unknown shower with a frantic elf wrapped around him. Hearth and Blitzen were often touching each other in some way, but never had Hearthstone ever held so tightly to him before. It was minutes before anyone could even get Hearth to let go of him to look him in the eyes and sign anything, but when he did, Blitz saw the desperate relief and joy in his elf's eyes, and he realized how awfully his near-death experience had affected his best friend. Even after finally letting go of his death grip on Blitz, Hearth seemed to be constantly watching him out of the corner of his eye, as if worried that if he took his gaze off for one minute the dwarf would be gone.

They had always been inseparable, but now they were well and truly together pretty much all the time. Wherever Blitzen went, Hearth followed, even if it was only to the next room to grab something. Not that Blitz was complaining about Hearthstone's company, it was just that every time Hearth quickened his pace to catch up with him, he was reminded of the look in his eyes when Blitz had been dying, and that was a sight Blitz never even wanted to think about again. The tears building up and threatening to fall from Hearth's grey-blue eyes, the way his hands shook when he tried to sign, the little gasping sounds he made as he tried not to cry- and worst of all, the fact that Blitzen had caused it. Okay, so it hadn't been Blitz' plan to get stabbed, but it was still Blitz Hearth was crying over, and that was unacceptable.

In the first week after the quest, they mostly avoided speaking about all that had happened, instead trying to pretend things were normal, Blitz reopening the shop and Hearth practicing runes, but it was impossible to forget why Hearth had taken to practicing downstairs in the shop, always within sight of Blitzen. Eventually, this delicate pretend normalcy was shattered when Blitz finally gathered up the courage to close up shop early, walk up to Hearth, and say and sign simultaneously _I think we need to talk_. The elf's eyes widened, and he seemed even paler than usual, but he nodded and followed Blitz upstairs to the round kitchen table in their apartment.

After a few awkward seconds, Blitz started to say "You need to stop blaming yourself" at the same time his best friend signed I'm sorry. Baffled, Blitz gaped at Hearthstone in confusion. "Sorry?" He asked, then switched to signing. _Silly elf, what are you sorry for?_ Hearth avoided his eyes, instead gazing intently at the woodwork of the table, before signing _Shouldn't have let you come along. Should have healed you faster. Should have stopped Loki. Sorry for all._ Shaking his head emphatically, Blitz responded _None of that your fault._

Hearthstone didn't buy that. Frowning deeper, he signed quickly _My fault. Should have-_ but he was stopped there by Blitz leaning across the table and taking his hands. At this, Hearth sighed but didn't protest. Enunciating clearly to make up for not being able to sign, Blitzen tried again at his speech he'd had planned. "You need to stop blaming yourself. There was nothing more you could do for any of those things. And think of the things you did do! Three runes in one day! Beating giants at pinball! Retrieving the Skofnung Stone to save me..." Blitz trailed off, unsure what else to say to make the elf believe him. Frustrated, he just looked Hearth in the eyes and tried to convey his sincerity. After a few seconds, Hearth tried to look away again, but was stopped by Blitz grabbing his face and forcing him to hold his gaze. Still unsure of the right words, Blitz just said "Don't be sorry. You saved my life. You went back home just to save me. That's the bravest thing I can think of."

At that, Hearth squeezed his eyes shut tightly as if overwhelmed and took a sharp breath in. When he opened them again, he pulled his hands out of Blitz' to sign _Didn't feel very brave. Felt terrified. Angry. But... For you._ For a moment, Blitzen didn't speak, and anxiety bloomed within the elf that he had somehow made him uncomfortable until Blitz sighed "You crazy elf..." and leaned across the table to wrap his arms around Hearth. They stayed like that for a time, before realizing how awkward a position it was. Pulling back to walk the few feet around the table, Blitz came to a stop in front Hearthstone and softly placed his hands on the elf's face. Staring into his eyes looking for any sign telling him to stop, Blitz found none, so he gently leaned forward and pressed his lips to Hearth's. After a few seconds, Blitz pulled back yet again to check that Hearth was still okay, but his fears were allayed when all the elf did was grab his head and pull him closer, kissing him deeper this time with the force of all the terror he'd felt when Blitz was stabbed, all the relief when they'd healed him, all the pure devotion of years of support and love. And when Hearth pulled back, it wasn't in fear, to make sure he hadn't interpreted everything wrong. Instead, he pulled back and let go of Blitz to sign with one hand, _I love you._

Blitz's smile at that was brighter than the Alfheim sun ever could be. His dark brown eyes glistening, he mimicked the sign, then said it out loud. "I love you too." Tinted bright green, Hearth grinned wider than Blitz had ever seen. The god of mischief may have been loose and the worlds in jeopardy, but Hearthstone couldn't have cared less. As if it was the most natural thing in the Nine Worlds, they both moved in synchrony until their mouths met again. If the worlds were going to end that summer, they had a lot of kissing to get in before then.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first blitzstone fic I've actually finished! And hopefully not the last; I have several others in production. I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT HEARTHSTONE


End file.
